Compare Our Top Shower Filter Systems
Honorable Mention Shower Filters
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
HigherDose Red Light Shower Filter for $599: The HigherDose Red Light Shower Filter (6/10, WIRED Reviewed) is, in some ways, the most intriguing shower filter idea I’ve encountered in the past year: It incorporates a ring of lights, delivering dual red and near-infrared wavelengths at purported therapeutic intensity (though the verdict is still out on the efficacy of red light therapy in general). The 10-layer filter is among the most complex I’ve tested, including steel-mesh filter for sediment and microplastics as well as layers of vitamin C and E. According to my testing, it’s effective: This filter reduced total chlorine to undetectable levels. So, far so good. The company also claims that independent testing showed the shower filter could remove the vast majority of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), microplastics, mineral hardness, and heavy metals like lead and cadmium. But HigherDose was not willing to share these results, nor the identity of the lab. So, the high cost of this shower filter system mostly stems from the (somewhat ingenious) ring of therapeutic red lights, better known from their role in red-light masks and red-light hair growth hats. The actual effects of the showerhead’s red light therapy are difficult to gauge, given that dosage will differ wildly depending on your distance from the showerhead and how long you like to shower.
Afina A-01 Filtered Showerhead for $129: Afina’s two-stage chlorine filter is as effective as any of the filtered showerheads I tested out of the box, reducing total chlorine levels to undetectable amounts. The broad, spa-like spray was also among the most pleasant of any showerhead I tried. But no independent lab testing was offered, and filter replacement is a bit more expensive than some, at $29 every two months with a subscription (or $40 every two months without).
Filterbaby Diamond Series Shower Filter for $113: This inline filter was able to reduce total chlorine levels to undetectable amounts, one of few filters on the market able to do so—and the fact that it’s an inline filter means you’ll be able slot this filter in between the pipe and your existing showerhead. That said, it’s a bulky filter, which means your showerhead will be about 4 inches lower than it used to be, and the screw-in system is a little awkward: It’s one of the only showerheads I actually needed a wrench to install properly. The replacement filters ($42 every three months) are designed to use minimal plastic.
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Sproos! Filtered Hand Shower for $148 ($120 with subscription): Sproos is a quirky, kicky, kooky shower brand offering a rainbow of bold colors for handheld filtered showerheads. Sproos has made some improvements to its design since WIRED first tested it in 2024. Its shower filters are also recyclable, a rare distinction. During our testing in early 2026, the filter removed most, but not all, total chlorine right out of the box in a chloramine-treated water system. Independent, third-party testing reviewed by WIRED showed similar results for free chlorine (i.e., chlorine-treated water systems), removing the majority of chlorine throughout the likely filter lifespan.
Hydroviv Filtered Showerhead for $173: Hydroviv is a water filter company of long standing, and its showerhead filter that uses KDF-55, calcium sulfite, and catalyzed carbon was able to reduce total chlorine levels down to undetectable levels out of the box in a chloramine-treated water system. Hydroviv suggests filter replacements once every six months, a longer span than comparable shower filters such as Canopy or Afina; that said, its $78 filters cost double or more what other filters do, and I noted significant loss of efficacy after four months. As with most makers of shower filters, requests to see independent lab testing results were unsuccessful. Hydroviv claims its filter media help reduce bacterial growth, though the materials cited are the same listed in other shower filters.
ShowerClear Filtered Shower Head, pictured as installed at a WIRED reviewer’s home.Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
ShowerClear Showerhead for $139: OK, you got me. This isn’t a filter. The ShowerClear is instead designed to solve a different problem: Potentially infectious bacteria called mycobacteria, which are prone to causing lung infections, enjoy growing inside showerheads, and are resistant to chlorine-treated water. They grow in colonies, a bit like fungus. Hence, the name. What’s worse, if you can’t open up your showerhead, you can’t see them and you don’t know they’re there. Gives you the willies. Anyway, this ShowerClear has a hinge and a latch. This means you can open it up, look inside, and clean its interior completely, with soap or vinegar or disinfectants. This is a rare quality even among filtered showerheads. I’d be happier if the ShowerClear’s water flow fanned out a little better, or if the latch were less of a defining design feature. But what’s all that for a little peace of mind? (That said, if you want a filter to remove chlorine, you’ll also need an inline filter like the Weddell Duo.)
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Croix Filtered Showerhead for $149 and Croix Handheld Showerhead for $149: Shower filter company Croix was founded by chemical engineer Spencer Robertson, an old hand at water filtration. The fixed showerhead is handsome, and the handheld shower has a much broader array of spray settings than most—including a fun, ultra-broad spray setting that’s like a savagely powerful misting device. This said, the KDF-55 and calcium sulfite filter didn’t filter even close to the majority of total chlorine levels from my chloramine-treated water system. Based on results I’ve reviewed from Croix’s internal testing, the filters were successful at filtering most free chlorine from water, in accordance with NSF standards. For this reason, I’d more likely recommend this device for chlorine-treated systems, like the one in New York City. Replacement cartridges and filters are reasonably priced and recommended once every four months, a longer interval than most brands on the market.
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Aquasana Inline Filter for $170: Aquasana’s funnily bulbous two-layer filter removed the majority of total chlorine in my chloramine-treated system, and it was also one of the only shower filter companies to offer independent testing data backing up its claims for chlorine-based systems. So far, so good. So why’s it not up near the top of our list? A flimsy shower wand with poor spray force and radius, a slight but unfortunate tendency toward leakiness at the shower connection, and unforgiving geometry that means it doesn’t link up well with all showerheads as an inline filter. Still, it works and it’s lab-attested for free chlorine removal, and I happily recommend it.
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Jolie Filtered Showerhead for $169: The Jolie showerhead pioneered the influencer-centric, testimonial-driven marketing model that has made shower filters so dominant in the public conversation. Its design, which looks a bit like a giant Monopoly playing piece and comes in chrome, gold, black, or red, is eminently likable. The device offers even water spray and a soft, stippled faceplate that feels luxuriant in the strangest of ways. But Jolie didn’t respond to requests for independent testing when I asked in 2024, and our own testing put it somewhere in the middle of the pack in terms of removing total chlorine from a chloramine-treated system.
Also Tested
Kohler Cinq for $150: Kohler is a venerable Wisconsin brand with a number of water treatment options for showers and faucets. The Cinq filtered showerhead is admirably classic in form, and its five-layer filter looked equally promising, advertising in particular KDF-55 and activated carbon. Home testing didn’t show great results with my chloramine-treated water, however. Requests for independent lab testing data in 2024 didn’t get results.
Act + Acre Showerhead Filter for $120: Beauty company Act + Acre’s filtered showerhead didn’t perform as well as others in my home testing of total chlorine. I also didn’t fall in love with the showerhead itself, which looks a bit like a gooseneck desk lamp and droops awkwardly from the shower pipe.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: wired.com
